Missing and feeling threatened
Date: Thu, Aug. 27, 2009
Re: Missing Man: Shawn "Maz" McDonald--LA- I think I know what might have happened to Shawn. A man who Shawn had spent several nights with has been acting very strange.After I placed the missing posters he came to my house something he never did before.I dont know him Shawn does.He was very nervious saying Shawn had only spent one night there. I know this to be a lie. This man told Shawn he had mail for him and they both told me Shawn had spent several nights there. The second time he came he gave me a book. That book belonged to Shawn . He carried it in his gutar case all the time.Shawn would not give up that book he was in it. The third time he came to say people say hes a killer and a thief but he isnt.He told me Shawn ran away and I should move on. The fourth time I was out of town . He told a friend living here that he was going out of town and to tell me that. This is strange. We aren't friends I saw him yesterday and again he said Shawn went to Arkansas. I told Him I called several people in Eurika Springs including Coydog the musician Shawn was supposed to have left with. We even put Shawns missing poster in the paper.I also spoke with the man Coydog stayed with right after he returned to Arkansas.He saw Shawn's pictures taken in New Orleans but he insists Shawn wasn't with Coydog. He became combative threatened to beat me down. I lost my cool and directly accused him of making Shawn disappear. Last night I went to Jimms's a store new me. He stepped out of the shadow and stared at me. He is a crackhead and he sells drugs. When I told people where Shawn was spending the night people told me he was dangerous. Now I may be in danger as Im the only one asking about Shawn.
We have a missing person case number but so far no one has reacted. I did call the police yesterday before the threats. he said he was sending a detective out but didn't know when.I need any advice I can get. Shawn was written about inthe New Yorker and he was in books and film. My hope is publicity. Its a good human interest story. Please help if you can Im all alone in this now and a little frightened.
MS Pearl Investigators Search for Recently Missing New Orleans Street Performer New Orleans, LA -- July 6, 2009
The fascinating lives of New Orleans street performers are often in the newspapers and on TV news because they live such unusual lives, are so very talented, and are adored by the public. Street performers were in the news, too, after Hurricane Katrina, when they banded together to help each other at Kamp Katrina, established to house street performers displaced by the disaster. A piece of unwelcome news, though, is the recent disappearance of one of their own.
Kamp Katrina volunteer Shawn McDonald, a gifted guitarist and an accomplished, long time Silver Mime,(a street mime who dresses in all silver clothes and face paint), has not been seen since June 3rd, and to the locals in New Orleans and the community of street performers, this is a frightening disappearance hitting way too close to home. Linda Scott, known as MS Pearl on these famous streets, has seen more tragedy in her years than most. She's lived through hurricanes and lost loved ones, but she's never had an experience that stopped her in her tracks...until now. "I've never known a feeling like this. I am so frightened for Maz, as I know he would not leave without telling us. He loves his work, his friends, and the French Quarter," Linda stated. "He's well known on the streets, so we know that someone knows what has happened." McDonald has been featured in three books, a documentary, and other countless videos about New Orleans street performers. He was also featured in a "New Yorker Magazine" blog by writer Dan Baum, who wrote, "At one point, he took out his guitar. From his appearance, I expected him to play something by Megadeth or Black Sabbath. Instead, with the guitar cocked upright on his left knee and his filthy fingers dancing over the strings, he played a lilting Spanish classical tune." McDonald's friends and family are asking the media to tell of the disappearance of this beloved man, and show his photos and/or videos, in hopes these media outlets can get the public's help to locate him in a timely manner. Friends and family are afraid for his safety. Those who know him say it's highly unlikely that he would have ventured off to other regions or accepted rides with strangers since he has post traumatic stress that makes him reticent about new surroundings.
Circumstances: He worked as a street performer in his usual fashion on the night of June 3rd, and returned home around 9:30pm. He went for a walk at about 10 pm, taking his guitar and a small amount of tip money he made that night. It is assumed that he spent the night with a male acquaintance, with whom he had spent time prior to his disappearance. The next day the male acquaintance stated that Maz went to Arkansas with a fellow musician, but that musician later said that he had asked Maz to go, but he had refused. 105,000 people are missing at any given time in America. Only a select few, often children and young women, are profiled in the media. Can you help get word out about Shawn McDonald? Contact information for your story: Anyone with any information is asked to contact: New Orleans Police Department Agency Phone: (504) 658-6050 Investigative Case #: F-28657-09 Or David Cross 504 453 0834
